The CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats "will be looking to recover" at least $1M (all figures Canadian) for "every home game they miss if the new Pan Am stadium is not completed on time," according to Drew Edwards of the Hamilton SPECTATOR. Infrastructure Ontario, the province's land management organization, said that building consortium Ontario Sports Solutions is "on the hook for the costs if the team can't play its first scheduled home game at Tim Hortons Field on July 26." The 24,000-seat stadium is "scheduled to be completed by June 30 but Infrastructure Ontario warned city council earlier this month to prepare for possible delays." The lease agreement between the team and the city that the city council approved on Wednesday "acknowledges the team would incur 'direct damages of $1 million or more' for each home game missed because of construction delays." It also "entitles the Ticats to recover 'all provable damages resulting from delay' and looks to the city to pursue those damages through its agreement with Infrastructure Ontario." The deal, "approved 9-7 after a long session behind closed doors, is worth $750,000 a year to the city for naming rights for Tim Hortons Field, $450,000 in football rent and $200,000 in additional rent for a total yearly commitment of $1.4 million." The team during its final season at Ivor Wynne Stadium in '13 "paid $27,500 in rent." The deal also "provides the Ticats with $600,000 to cover costs associated with the 2013 season, when the team was forced to practise at McMaster University and build a temporary locker room facility in the basement of its offices" (Hamilton SPECTATOR, 2/28).
